Bientôt La Fin

Dan, John and the amazing invisible Christine

Gabby and I Saturday

Something extraordinary happened today! As I was perusing my blog last night I saw a comment on my post about how I lost my wallet…someone here found it and turned it in!!!!! I went to the police where I had filed the incident report and where the person said they turned it in this morning and they said they didn’t have any record that someone turned it in, but that anyway found objects are picked up by another department of the police and brought to another office and they gave me the number. Before leaving they had the audacity to tell me that if the other office does in fact have it, that I must come back to them to change the police report I filed a month ago letting them know it was found. Are you kidding me? Anywho, I went this afternoon and IT WAS THERE!!! I don’t know who it was that found it and took the trouble to bring it back but I can’t believe it. It saves me from getting a new student ID, licence, etc. etc. And to think, I could have left France without ever knowing that it had been turned in. 

Thank you so much whoever you are for taking the time to find me and let me know!!

So, how do I spend my last few weeks in Toulouse? Tranquille. I've been going to all my favorite markets in the mornings and taking long bike rides around the city in the afternoon. I'm spending a lot of time at home with my roommates, often eating dinner or lunch together. 

Gisele and I before our night on the town

Bonnie helping set the table

John came for a few days last week, then his brother Dan came up from where he was studying in Grenada and stayed with me for a few days after. I threw a garden party where about 10 of us who are still in Toulouse, along with Gisele, Gabby, John and Dan ate at a long table outside. Bonnie, who happened to be in Toulouse for one night between Germany and Italy even came!

The problem with knitting in May... 

Yesterday I finished my scarf and a matching bonnet at Queen Mother and Christine’s. In keeping with my New Years resolution I’ve been going to their fabulous Toulousain apartment in the center of town a few afternoons to sit and knit with them as they work on things for their store or things people have ordered. It’s been a great way to practice my French and just spend quiet afternoons in a lovely space. I usually bake something for us to snack on, and this time I attempted cocoa brownies from scratch with peanut butter swirl and I have to say, they turned out pretty good. 

American brownie concoction

Saturday I did 40km of cycling with Gabby and a group of university students who go out every week, it was such amazing weather. That night Gisele took me out on the town as part of my “au revoir” (but not “adieu”): we started at a café in our neigborhood of St. Cyprien for an aperitif, and she showed me the apartment she lived in before she bought the house we live in now. Then we strolled over the bridge to the other side of the river and sat outside right next to a gorgeous cathedral I’d never visited before just as the sun was setting on it’s façade. To top it all off we walked to our favorite ice cream place in Toulouse for a cone, and then walked back home across the river. It was a really special night. When I got home I grabbed my bike then went to one of my favorite bars to wait fro my friends who were meeting me. I got to talking with the bartender and once my friends got there and had a few drinks he closed the bar and let us stay and hang out and put our music on. We ended up going dancing after that until the am. A long but perfect day.

Sunday was Mother’s Day here and I was invited to a colleague’s house about 30 minutes outside the city. She has a gorgeous ranch with a pool and I hung out there the whole day.

C’est pas beau la vie?